15 minutes
by chrisfaithalin
Summary: Chapelle gives Tony and Michelle 15 minutes to work out their problems. Both come to understand the others point of view. Just a sweet little one shot with lots of cheesiness in it. Surprise.


Takes place a couple hours after the episode that aired on the 17th. (This weeks)  
  
-Fifteen Minutes-  
  
"Tony, come here for a second." Ryan called over to Tony who was walking over to his office.   
  
The dark haired man slowed his pace and then turned around to Chappelle. "Yeah, Ryan?"  
  
"I need you and Michelle to go over the report we are going to send to the president."   
  
Tony visibly rolled his eyes and became disgruntled. "Can you have somebody else do it?"  
  
Ryan was annoyed. "No I can't. You two have been the only ones around all day that actually know what's going on. I would have Jack do it with you, but he is not here right now."  
  
Tony couldn't argue with that but that doesn't mean he has to be happy about it. "Yeah, fine."  
  
"You know what? I am tired of this. Whatever bad blood there is between you and Michelle needs to go. You guys are not working well together and I need you to be."  
  
"Ryan, our problems are personal and we have been nothing but professional about it."   
  
"Yeah, but don't think I haven't seen the snide remarks and the arguing. I need you guys on good terms. You don't need you to kiss and make up. I just need you to just get out what has been brewing. I am giving you 15 minutes and then you need to get to work. I don't want to have to deal with this again." Ryan now looked quite angry and stalked off not giving Tony the chance to reply.  
  
Tony scratched his cheek and walked up to his office. He sat down in his chair and stared down at Michelle. She was sitting at her desk doing one thing or another on her computer. He reached for the phone and dialed the all so familiar extension. "Michelle, can I see you up in my office?"   
  
She turned around in her chair and looked up at him. Not even saying a word, Michelle hung up, nodded, and made her way up the stairs slowly. After closing the door, she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms across her chest. "You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Come and sit down." Tony motioned toward the seat in front of him politely.   
  
Michelle fidgeted a little and spoke a little harshly. "What do you want Tony?"  
  
Tony was a little taken back by her tone. "Well, Ryan has given us orders to fix whatever problems there are between us and then go over the report for the president."  
  
Michelle rolled her eyes this time. "We will just start on the report and just say we worked things out."  
  
"Michelle, it's not going to work. He wants the problems between us solved. Do you not want to fix the problems between us?" Tony spoke softly.  
  
"What problems? We are perfectly fine." Michelle spoke forcefully, but did not meet Tony's gaze.   
  
"I don't like this anymore than you do, but you can not deny that something is going on. We have fought before, but never anything like this. What's going on Michelle?"   
  
Michelle met his gaze. Tony felt his heart clench, seeing her eyes filled with tears threatening to spill. "What am I supposed to say? Let's see…hmmm…well, it all started when no surprise, there is a virus that could be released and kill millions. So we scrambling to put all the pieces in time to save everybody, once again. I found out that my husband was offered this great new position, yet there is no job for me and even though I insist he take it, he doesn't want to take the offer. Also, my husband was shot today, oh but he decided to not stay in bed and get well like any sane person. Nah, he needs to come back here, where I find out he has kept something from me for a month and I had no idea he was keeping something from me. Oh, and he is pissed off at me for turning him in when I thought he was medically unfit to run this place. He said I wasn't trusting him, when in fact I was just doing my job. If it had been anybody else I would have done the same thing, yet he does not see that. That's not the best part, I have had to watch my husband interrogate the person that brought him so much pain. I hate that woman more than anything for the pain that she brought on my husband." Michelle paused as she stared at Tony. Slowly her voice had grown a little louder and a tad bit more hysterical. However the last part she stated firmly. "And on top of that. This great husband of mine, who I love without a doubt in my mind and was worried to death over when he got shot, well to top it all off he has been nothing but a jackass to me."   
  
Tony looked taken back at this. That was definitely not what he was expecting to come from Michelle's lips. But, maybe she was right. Maybe. "I don't even know what to say to that Michelle."  
  
Michelle looked away and noticeably relaxed as if holding her breath. "There is nothing to say."  
  
"I didn't realize you had so much on your plate, but getting shot in the neck hasn't been a walk in the park. The meds have just fully worn off within the last couple of hours."  
  
"I'm not pointing the finger, I am just telling it like it is."   
  
Tony smirked. "Well, from the high amount of times your husband was mentioned in that little speech, I do believe he is the source for many of your worries."  
  
"I won't argue that."  
  
"I didn't know that I was being such a jerk to you." Tony stared into Michelle's expectant eyes. "Ok, maybe I did know. I felt like shit knowing that you didn't trust me. If you did, then you would have known that if I couldn't handle the job, I wouldn't be here."  
  
Michelle responded immediately. "Maybe, if you trusted me, you would have told me about your secret mission."  
  
"I told you, I couldn't compromise the mission because our involvement."  
  
"I couldn't compromise CTU over our marriage. I wouldn't call a marriage an involvement."  
  
Tony was silent. She had gotten him. "I should have just told you. It would have saved so many problems." Tony stood up, frustrated with himself to not see what she did was for the greater good. She had done the right thing.  
  
Michelle moved from her place against the wall and walked over to Tony. "My problem isn't that you didn't tell me about the mission. You were right in keeping that from me. However, I am angry with myself that you have known this for a month and I knew nothing."  
  
"Michelle…"Tony tried to explain.  
  
"No, you can read me like a book, yet I couldn't tell that you were keeping something from me."  
  
"Come on Michelle, there has to have been something that you haven't told me. Some secret that you haven't wanted to tell me and I didn't know."  
  
Michelle shook her head. "No, I have not kept anything from you that was like this before. I have always trusted you with all information like this."  
  
Tony now felt guilty. Contrary to what he believed an hour ago, she actually trusted him more than he trusted her. "Michelle, you are making a bigger deal out of this than it really is."  
  
"No, I don't know my own husband. What kind of wife am I if I can't tell if he is keeping secrets? You could be cheating on me for all I know and I wouldn't know." Tears started to fall from her eyes now.  
  
"It makes you a normal human being. You know I would never keep anything from you without reason and I would never….and I stress the never…cheat on you in any way. I love you too much."  
  
Michelle laughed cynically. "You are not going to be saying that 15 years from now and you meet a younger women who can be the dream wife, that will cook, clean and be home all the time."  
  
Tony lifted Michelle's chin so she was looking straight into his eyes. "I never said I wanted that Michelle. All I want is you and that's all I will ever need."  
  
"What about Langley (sp?)?" Michelle questioned. "It's a big move up."  
  
"Screw Langley. My place is here, with you and CTU. I am happy here with all the people I know and trust. And unless you want to move then I don't see why we should. I just want to make you happy."  
  
Michelle jumped and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I am happy here with you and CTU. I don't want to go anywhere."   
  
Tony hugged Michelle in return and rubbed her back soothingly. "I am so sorry the way I have been treating you today. I didn't stop to think that maybe you had more to deal with than I do. I wasn't thinking clearly. I am sorry."  
  
Michelle pulled back some. "I'm sorry too for not trusting you. You had a lot on your mind as well, and I was just thinking of your best interests along with CTU's."  
  
"I know." And Tony leaned in to seal the whole ordeal with a kiss. A short and sweet kiss that was much needed for both of them. When the pulled apart, Tony was grinning ear to ear. "So, I guess this means I am not sleeping on the couch tonight."  
  
Michelle giggled and slapped his arm playfully. "No, you definitely are not."  
  
They went in for another kiss, but were interrupted by a clearing of a throat. They turned to see Jack standing in the doorway, smirking at both of them. "Chappelle wanted me to tell you your 15 minutes are up." He stalked off shaking his head and muttering "In the workplace for crying out loud. Next thing you know, we will catch them having sex in the middle of the workday."  
  
Tony laughed and hugged Michelle one last time before they set back to work.   
  
A/N…So this is my second 24 fic. Woohoo. The other is also a t/m fic, no surprise. I don't know how you spell Chappelle and I am too lazy to go look it up and same with Langley. Oh well. Anyway I would just like to say I know that characters were out of character especially Jack, but this is just what I wish would happen because Tony is being a jackass to say the least. It's just my own little world. Gah. The last episode was my absolute favorite episode because it made me laugh so many times and it finally gave me a little to work with to actually do this fic. I have wanted to do it for a couple of episodes but I actually needed them to actually be rude to each other so I could have a reason to have them make up and stuff. But, yeah this episode was so hilarious. "First Jack then you, there seems to be a pattern there." "Whose, the lucky girl? Did you do a background check this time?" "How did she take it?" I don't know Chase, she seemed kinda pissed.." lol, sigh the good old days. Anywho thank you for reading and please leave a review. I hope you enjoyed 


End file.
